


There's no Crop Circles in Hyperspace

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Stargate, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21902896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: Without a Stargate, the world has found another way to travel to distant places through hyperspace. There are those brave enough - or foolish enough - to trailblaze new routes through uncharted hyperspace.Captain John Sheppard and his crew are exactly those kind of people.The stowaway Rodney McKay was someone that nobody had planned on.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan/Kanaan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 88
Collections: Stargate Atlantis Secret Santa 2019





	There's no Crop Circles in Hyperspace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brumeier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/gifts).



With the sun's heat beating down on the back of his neck, Rodney kneeled down for a better look at crushed and twisted stems of hay.

"Careful," Radek cautioned sounding much too gleeful for Rodney's peace of mind. "Be careful not to disturb the pattern."

Rodney glared back. "I know what I'm doing. Not that it should matter since this is obviously someone's idea of a joke."

"For some crop circles yes. But I still believe that this particular crop circle is far too complex to be a hoax."

"Yes yes we've been through all that. Give it a rest, Radek, there's nothing here that a couple of flat-footed kindergarteners, a plank and some rope couldn't have achieved."

Radek pushed his glasses up higher on his nose and declared," You are just miffed because you lost our bet."

"Miffed?! I held up my end of the bargain. I'm here, aren't I? Not to mention, blistering under the hot sun just so you can prove to your colleagues what a complete waste of time—oh excuse me, what an amazing discovery this is going to be when you prove this—" Rodney waved his hand over the field—"is an alien message!" 

Radek just smirked. "You are also a sore loser."

He hung his head in defeat. Radek was right about that. He had lost the bet, fair and square. Rather than revisit his total humiliation at being bested by his Czech friend, Rodney reached for his tools and began taking measurements. 

The sooner they finished up here he sooner he could go back to…well fuck. Since the university had pulled his funding he didn't exactly have a place to go back to. 

As if reading his mind, Radek lowered his camera and asked, "Have you thought about what you want to do now that you're out of work? I could put in a good word for you, you could be part of my team."

"No. Just take your damn pictures. I don't want to be here all day." Rodney sighed. "Sorry for snapping. I know you just want to help but I'm a brilliant engineer, not an alien hunter." 

"Tsk. There is no need to apologize. Not everyone is up to the task. Oh, my."

"Oh, my what? What have you done now, Radek?"

"The memory card is full and I have only taken half the pictures I need. I will have to drive into town and buy another one." Radek pushed his glasses up further in this nose. "Do you want to come?"

Rodney stood up and brushed his knees off. "I'll stay here and finish this section. You can bring me back a sandwich and some sunscreen though."

As Radek walked away he yelled, "Lots of sunscreen."

~*~

The back of his neck was burning. Rodney didn't have to see the skin to know it was likely lobster-red by now. He checked his watch. Radek was taking his own, sweet time getting back. Probably flirting with that pretty brunette waitress back at the town's single restaurant.

He picked up his equipment and moved toward the center of the crop circle. Stupid hay. Stupid aliens—which Rodney absolutely did not believe in. Yes, he'd had a slight fascination with Area 51 at the age of twelve, but didn't everyone? 

The ground began to tremble under his feet. Struggling to keep his footing Rodney muttered, "So help me if you've dragged me into an earthquake zone all for your stupid crop circles—" A bright, white tunnel of light lit up the sky blinding him. 

The ground steadied and Rodney held his hands over his eyes and tried to blink away the spots dancing in his vision."—I swear, Radek, I'm going to make you regret the day you—"

"Who the hell are you?"

Rodney dropped his hands and looked up to see a tall, dread-locked, and aggressive looking stranger standing in front of him. "Who are you?"

The stranger tapped his earpiece. "Sheppard, this is Ronon. We've picked up a stowaway."

"What!? No no no, that's not right." Rodney gave a frantic look around. Everything had changed. Grey, metal plating lay underfoot instead of earth and hay. The sunlit field he'd been standing in just moments ago had given way to a large room filled with consoles and computer displays. 

"How the hell did that happen?" said the voice over the radio.

"Don't know," Ronon replied, "but you might want to get down here."

"On my way, Sheppard out."

Eyeing Ronon's every move, Rodney's fingers crept up to his skull. Huh, no obvious head injury. Damn it. If he wasn't hallucinating then this must be real. Which meant, he'd been kidnapped!

Furious at the way he'd been treated, Rodney pointed a shaking finger at the man in front of him. Ronon somebody. "You! You've got a lot of nerve…." His voice trailed off as Ronon's physical appearance sank in. He was tall, disturbingly muscular, and in depressingly better shape than Rodney. 

He was stopped from spitting out something he'd probably regret when a lean, dark-haired man stepped into the room. 

Oh great, here was another tall, ridiculously good-looking stranger Rodney that was going to have to contend with. 

"So, Ronon, who's this?" 

Ronon grinned, Rodney's angst having apparently amused him. "Captain Sheppard, meet our stowaway. Oh yeah, he says we kidnapped him."

"I'm not—" Rodney sighed. "My name is Dr. Rodney McKay and I have no idea how I ended up here. One minute I'm investigating a crop… well never mind what I was doing, but trust me when I say I had zero plans of ending up here. It only stands to reason that my being here is all your fault, Captain Sheppard." Rodney folded his arms across his chest and glared.

"Oh really," Sheppard drawled. "My fault? Interesting that you seem to think so." 

Sheppard's voice dropped and he leaned forward, eyes narrowed. Suddenly Rodney realized the Captain was a lot more dangerous than he'd first appeared. 

"You have no business being on my ship, Dr. McKay. I don't know how you got here but believe me, we had nothing to do with it."

"Ship?" An uneasy suspicion crept up the back of his spine. "Where exactly is am I?"

Ronon raised his eyebrows. "You don't know?"

"No, I don't know," Rodney snapped. "I told you, I didn't plan on coming here! Um, I don't suppose you could tell me where here is?"

Tension bled out of John's shoulders. Sure, he looked more relaxed, but Rodney wasn't reassured. There remained something hard in the Captain's eyes that warned him that he wasn't off the hook. Not that he'd done anything wrong, damn it.

"You're standing on the deck of the starship Atlantis," Ronon said, pride lighting his eyes. "Best little, independent recon ship this side of the galaxy. You're looking a little pale there, McKay." He leaned forward and bared his teeth. "You'd better not throw up on her if you know what's good for you."

"I'm in space?" Rodney imagined he could feel it now. The vacuum of space pressing in, the vibration of movement under his feet—oh god, they were moving. 

"What the hell!?" Sheppard reached up and touched a radio link half-hidden by his rakish hair. "Teyla, why are we moving?"

He listened for a few moments, before adding, "Peachy. Well, on top of a faulty bounce we've got an unexpected passenger. Any idea how that happened?"

As Rodney watched, John nodded grimly in response to whatever this Teyla person on the other side of the radio was saying. The false smile he threw in Rodney's direction wasn't the least bit reassuring. "What do you think? Any chanced we send him back the same way?"

Judging from the Captain's frown he didn't get the answer he hoped. Rodney's patience ran out. "Well? Can you send me back or not?"

"About that," Sheppard said. "There's a problem. Ronon, get up to navigation and find out where the hell this unscheduled bounce came from. McKay, you'd better come with me. And don't touch anything."

~*~

Damn, Sheppard's legs were long. Rodney had to hustle just to keep up. What he really wanted to do was slow down and take his time to look at everything.

Sheppard must have noticed because he glanced over and asked, "You've never been in space before?" 

"I've successfully avoided every opportunity to defy gravity and be forcibly dependent on tin can walls as the only thing between me and a breathable atmosphere."

"So, that's a no. Ronon exaggerates when he calls this ol' gal a starship. She's hardly up to that. _Atlantis _is a working girl and built for it." The raw pride on Sheppard's face was almost painful to see.__

__"So, Rodney said, "I gather I don't have to worry about a cracked hull or sudden decompression?_ _

__Sheppard all but reached out and fondly patted the bulkhead. "Nope. If you want, I'll give you a tour of the engine room later. You can see for yourself how well she's designed."_ _

__Rodney's head snapped up. "Engines? I'm going to hold you to that, Captain."_ _

__"You like engines?" Sheppard asked._ _

__"Captain, you have no idea."_ _

__Eyebrow arched, Sheppard studied him, clearly expecting an explanation._ _

__It was the irony of Rodney's life that while he'd thrown his considerable talents into the research and development of spaceship engines his reluctance to go into space meant he'd never actually flown on a ship using his design. "Just call it a particular interest of mine."_ _

__"Good to know." A few steps later they were at their destination. "Flight deck," John said, stepping into a room that couldn't possibly be mistaken for anything else. "This is my co-pilot Teyla. Teyla, this is Dr. Rodney McKay our stowaway."_ _

__Rodney glared. "Not a stowaway. How many times do I have to say it? Look, I never asked to be beamed up to your…."_ _

__His voice trailed off as he stared out the viewport. Space was black. Black and yawning in front of him. Wide, forever spaces, stars spread across the expanse—oh god—so much expanse._ _

__"Whoa, McKay, are you all right?"_ _

__Swaying slightly on his feet, Rodney looked down to see Sheppard holding on to his arm with a strong grip. "Oh, god. Do you know how many ways we could die out here?"_ _

__"You're not going to die," Sheppard said, eyes twinkling in badly hidden amusement._ _

__Before he could snap back a retort, Rodney was caught in a wash of vertigo as his senses screamed at him. His whole body felt stretched as though thinned and pulled to an impossible degree before suddenly snapping back into place. He hadn't moved, he knew he hadn't. "What the fuck was that?"_ _

__"That was the bounce," Teyla answered. "Look out the viewport. We've just entered hyperspace."_ _

__The view had changed from star-pocked deep space into irregular ribbons of silver-tinged light streams. An uneasiness boarding on terror crept up his spine and Rodney grabbed Sheppard's shirt, curling his hands into tight fists. "Take me back, take me back right now, you kidnapper!"_ _

__Sheppard folded his hands over Rodney's but didn't make him let go. "I can't. Tell him why Teyla."_ _

__"We are unable to beam you back, Dr. McKay. In all honesty, we don't even know how you got on board."_ _

__"Seriously?" Rodney released his death grip on Sheppard's shirt and balled his hands into fists. She looked too sincere to be fucking with him but he wasn't ready yet to just accept her word._ _

__"Quite seriously," she replied flatly, clearly considering the argument over._ _

__"Well, I certainly didn't beam myself on board!"_ _

__Teyla narrowed her eyes. "The _Atlantis_ does not have beaming technology, so how do you explain your presence?"_ _

__Sheppard held up his hand. "Easy guys, we'll get it figured out. Teyla, I'm going to take McKay down to med bay and have Carson take a look at him. The bounce can have a funny effect on anyone not used to it._ _

____

~*~

Keeping within arm's reach John steered McKay down the corridor toward med bay. If McKay had another attack of vertigo, he could at least keep the poor guy from hitting the deck.

He should probably insist that his entire crew get checked out by Carson. John had never even heard of uninitiated bounce happening before, and it was possible they were all affected by it.

"Carson, I've got something for you." John gently shoved Rodney into the med bay. 

"This must be our unexpected guest I've been hearing about." 

McKay glared at Carson; the grumpy line of his shoulders proof that he was beginning to shake off the effects of the last few minutes.

"We'll just take a quick look at things with the scanner and have you on your way in no time," Carson said, patting the small exam table. He shot a glance in John's direction. "Is there anything specific I should be looking for?"

"It was his first bounce," John said, "so I thought…."

"Aye, that one seemed a little rougher than the norm to boot. In fact, Captain, I'll be expecting all of you to see me before the day's end. Can't hurt to be a wee bit careful."

John nodded and then let himself be shooed out of the way while Carson finished up with McKay. 

Several minutes passed before he heard the doc say, "You can come back in now." 

"It will take thirty minutes or so for the scans to complete, but so far it seems no there's no damage beyond a bit of discomfort." 

McKay's eyes were as wide as saucers. "What kind of damage? Oh, god. If I die this is all your fault, Sheppard!"

"Enough with the dying." John bit off all the things he'd like to say. It might be kind of fun to wind McKay on a good day but this wasn't the time. "C'mon, let's get you settled. I'll show you to your bunk."

If he'd thought McKay looked discouraged before it was nothing compared to now. If the guy's shoulders slumped any further, they'd be down to his knees. "It's going to be okay, McKay."

"I take it we're still in hyperspace?" Rodney asked. "How soon can you take me back?"

Well crap. John was dreading the question. Until he talked to Ronon he wasn't even sure where the hell they were going. Hopefully, by now his navigator had run the data and could give him an answer. But telling Rodney they were temporarily lost seemed like a very bad idea. 

"I'm calling a meeting in thirty. Be there and you can ask all your questions then." 

With Rodney at his heels, John headed down ladder and stood in front of a hatch. "Engine room's behind that bulkhead and this is the engineer's quarters. You can hole up here."

John began opening cupboards. The supplies were on the short side but at least the basics were there. "Make yourself comfortable and if you need anything let Kanaan know."

"Kanaan?" Rodney asked. He looked drawn and pale, but at least he seemed steadier on his feet. 

"Teyla's husband. He's our unofficial supply clerk and cook all rolled into one. You'll see him at the meeting." John tapped a panel on the wall and pulled up a map. 

"We're here, he tapped a green square. Here's the meeting area." He drew a line with his fingertip creating a glowing path for Rodney to follow. 

"Why are you being so helpful?"

"Neither one of us asked for this, Rodney. I'm just trying to make the best of a shitty situation." 

"Or—" Realization swept across his face. You're trying to soften me up because you won't take me back. That's what this is really about, isn't it?"

Shit. "I can't, Rodney. Not right away. We're in the middle of a job and we can't afford to lose the time or money that kind of delay would take. I'm sorry."

"Not, fucking sorry enough." 

"Look, you're here, would it hurt to at least to make the best of it?" With a little smirk John added, "After all, I did offer to let you look at my engine."

Rodney's face reddened. "Did you just…?" He passed one hand over his face. "I'll look at your engine, Sheppard, but I'm not interested in looking at your _engine_."

John bit back a laugh. "Just be at the meeting and I'll introduce to everyone else. I think we're all going to get along just fine."

On his way out the door, he heard Rodney mutter, "I seriously doubt that."

~*~

John perked up at the sight of Kanaan walking in and setting a plate of donuts down on the table.

"At it again, I see," Kanaan said, eyeing the display occupying most of the space above their heads.

"Yep." Swiftly tapping out an additional line of command John added another planet to the holographic image. This version of Saturn had planets as well as rings now, plus a couple of orbiting comets that looked about to crash into each other. 

"Hey, are these real donuts?" John didn't wait for an answer. He grabbed one off the plate and took a big bite. Flavor burst over his taste buds and he moaned in pleasure. "You do this so that I'll keep you on, don’t you?"

"Of course." Kanaan grinned. "At least if you don't mind being my test subject."

John halted mid-bite. "Test subject?"

"This," he said, beaming with pride, "is my latest experiment with protein derivatives combined with those new flavor enhancers I picked up at Hubble station."

He weighed the possibility that there was no actual flour, milk, or anything resembling a real egg in his donut. He shrugged and took another bite. "It's good."

When Kanaan and Teyla had joined on, none of them had expected it to last longer than one run. Now, John couldn't imagine running the ship without them. Funny how things work out. 

In between licking the crumbs off his fingers, John asked, "Hey, do you ever hear anything from your brother?" 

Seeing the blank look fall over Kanaan's features, John winced. Crap. This is why he hated small talk. 

"Kanoor? No. I believe he still blames me for losing the controlling interest in the company. A foolish blame as it was his choice to lie and falsify documents."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's all right, John. Stars at the stern." Kanaan turned away but not before John noticed the deep crease furrowing his brow.

Warily, he asked, "You're sure everything's okay?"

"Teyla claims I worry foolishly about family politics and squabbles." With a shake of his head, Kanaan's expression lightened. "Leaving that mess far behind is the best thing about being in here." 

Before John could voice his agreement, Rodney poked his head through the doorway. "Donuts?" Stepping up to the table he grabbed one only to stop mid-bite and stare up at John's holographic universe. His gaze seemed particularly fixed on the two comets heading straight for each other.

"Normally, I'd say your mind was a scary place, Sheppard. Only, I did the same thing with the orbital set I built when I was eight." Rodney chewed, eyes following the trajectory. "Huh, I could never solve the ring wiggle problem. You'll have to show me how you did it."

John figured that was as close to a peace offering as he was going to get. "Sure." 

He and Rodney were in the middle of taking bets over the timing of the collision when the rest of his crew walked in. Reluctantly, John closed down the hologram. He waited until everyone had settled with their coffee and donuts in hand, and then began the meeting.

"Carson, I'm glad you decided you could join us," John said, unable to resist making a point of it. He shouldn't. He knew how lucky they were to have a physician of Dr. Beckett's caliber on his crew, but the doc could weasel out of a meeting slicker than anyone he'd ever met. 

"Aye. I believe you mentioned there was some danger involved with our current assignment?" Carson completely ignored John's pointed jibe and yet looked so genuinely concerned that it made him feel like a heel. Fuck.

Rodney's head snapped up. "Danger? His eyes narrowed to a laser focus on John's face. "Just what kind of danger and how much?"

Wishing more than ever he could skip the meeting and just sit and watch his comets collide into a fiery death, John stiffened his shoulders and soldiered on. He pulled up a display of a star chart and highlighted their current location.

"Our next scheduled stop is in the Sigma sector." For Rodney's benefit, he added, "It has the last access point in the wormhole system. Once there, we'll do a thorough systems check. Assuming everything's prime, our next stop is uncharted hyperspace."

"Oh my god." Rodney groaned. He stared around the table at each of them in turn, his glare finally landing back on John. "You're wormhole jockeys! Of all the idiotic, dangerous— This is why you won't return me to Earth?" 

"I explained that, Rodney. We're getting paid premium credits for this job and we can't afford not to take it, even if it means taking you along for the ride." 

John didn't add that he'd gone into hock up to his nethers to repair _Atlantis_ after their last salvage gig. He'd had to use his ship as collateral and his creditors weren't exactly the patient sort. The risk had seemed worth it at the time, but without the credits, this job would bring in he could lose everything.

"None of which will be any comfort at all at my funeral," Captain Sheppard," Rodney snapped, "because we're all going to die!"

"What's our exit plan?" Ronon asked, forcing the conversation back on topic. "After we're through the last jump point how are we getting back into normal space?

"We're going to create a jump point within hyperspace." John rocked back on his heels. 

"How?" Teyla asked. "I believe only the largest military vessels have the technology to do that."

John grinned. "Our employer didn't cut any costs. The Planetary Expansion League paid for and installed the upgrade."

He had to wait for the chatter to subside before he could continue, but the expressions on the faces of his crew made it worth the surprise. 

"I suppose that improves the odds of survival, oh, by twenty percent," Rodney groused, "but it's still damn dangerous."

Carson raised his hand. "How dangerous, exactly?"

Before John could answer, Rodney spoke up. "You want the grim details? I'll lay it out for you. The problem isn't only that we'll be navigating through an unknown region of hyperspace, although god knows that's dangerous enough." He drew a long, overly dramatic breath as far as John was concerned. 

Jumping in before Rodney could finish, John added, "Short version. We'll be emerging into uncharted territory when we reenter normal space."

"He means that when we emerge into we could find ourselves in the center of a sun," Ronon said. His blunt observation resulted in nervous looks around the table.

"It's far more likely we'd come out too close to a planet and its gravitational field would wreak havoc with the jump's stability." Rodney took a sip of his coffee, before looking up and seeing everyone staring at him.

"That doesn't sound good," Carson said.

Frowning, Teyla quietly added. "It is not. Were we to exit a wormhole and be caught in such a field our atoms would be scattered without a trace. No one would ever know what happened to us."

"Yes yes, our atoms would be converted to non-cohesive bonds." Rodney snapped his fingers. "Although…" 

Shit, McKay was speaking again and John desperately tried to think of a way to muzzle him. So far everything he'd said had made the situation sound worse.

"Hear me out, Sheppard." Rodney leaned forward. "I have a solution. It's simple really. All we need to do is send a probe through first, have it radio back the necessary data, and if it's clear, we jump."

"People have tried that, McKay," Ronon growled. "No one can get a signal to cross through."

"Ah, but they weren't me!" Rodney's eyes held a wild glint of enthusiasm and John reminded himself that the guy was only here because he'd tried to sneak on board. 

Looking at uneasy expressions in front of him John decided it was time to take back control of the conversation. "I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't think we could handle it. We're a team, and you're the best crew any captain could ask for. I know we can do this." 

He looked at the faces around him and was relieved to see glimmers of pride replacing some of the doubt.

Ronon stood up. "Sheppard, if you say we can do this, I believe you." He grabbed up another donut from the plate and took a large bite. Brushing the crumbs from his shirt, he asked, "We done?"

"There are still a few details to cover once the array is installed —" 

"Great. Since we're not there yet, you can fill us in on that part later." Ronon clapped his hand down on Rodney's shoulder. "C'mon, McKay. Let's go work on that device of yours." 

"Oh, um, sure." Rodney looked torn between staying and leaving with Ronon. 

Ronon looked at John with a grin that held a lot more teeth than it did smile. "Might as well give our stowaway a chance to earn his keep."

John bit back a grin. Ronon had a point. "Go on. Meeting dismissed." He watched as everyone left the room wearing varying expressions of concern. 

Ronon and Rodney were already engrossed in conversation. Carson still looked worried, Teyla had her game face on and Kanaan seemed distracted. John shrugged. Same as normal then. 

John began cleaning up. He took his time putting the cups away and storing the last of the donuts. They all took their turn at housekeeping and he found the mundane task settled his mind. Besides, this was likely the last few minutes of quiet he was going to get before it was his turn on the flight deck.

~*~

Rodney did a quick glance around the ship's engineering room before pulling out a pad and starting a list.

"How sure are you this is going to work?" Ronon asked.

"Well…you've got a decent engineering room, enough spare parts to get the basic shell, several actually. The wiring isn't going to be a problem but the booster component could be—"

"We can make parts." Ronon nodded towards the machinist bench. Got a matter conversion kiln too."

"Now, that is good news." Rodney walked over to inspect the kiln. "Limited size and weight. Not surprising on a ship this size. Lucky for us the components don't need to be very large."

"As long as you can make it work."

Rodney snapped his fingers. "All we need is the right kind of material to induce the seismic frequency to phase shift and create a bridge between hyperspace and normal space. Once I make the connection to the power matrix we're good to go."

"Whatever." Ronon threw a skeptical look in his direction. "Just tell me what materials you need."

Typically, Rodney didn't mind getting lost in his work. Being shanghaied onto a spaceship about to launch into uncharted hyperspace hardly fit his idea of typical. "How many of these RF probes do you think the Captain needs?" 

Ronon didn't exactly invite conversation but he didn't seem to mind answering questions. "Fine, but you should probably do a couple extra. Odds are good we're going to lose at least one."

Rodney closed his eyes and breathed. Five to one odds and that was a conservative guess. Doomed. They were so doomed unless he could get the RF probes to work. He bent his head over his work and tried to concentrate on soldering the delicate circuitry into place. 

He'd much rather concentrate on the oddly charming and sexy captain of the ship. Rodney sighed. Pity he might not live long enough to do anything about it. 

"I know I shouldn't ask, especially since he kidnapped me and all but the Captain wouldn't happen to be available?"

Rodney almost fumbled the connections as a new thought hit him. "Crap. Ronon, what if I'm suffering some kind of space Stockholm syndrome? Could I be any more of an idiot?"

"He's unattached." That and a shit-eating grin was all the response Rodney got before Ronon turned and left the room.

~*~

John stood just inside the nav room and watched Ronon as he worked. "What's our ETA?"

"Thirty minutes until we reach the Sigma jump point." Ronon turned in his chair to face him. "Nervous?"

John rubbed the back of his neck and tried to plaster a casual expression on his face. "Do I look nervous?"

"You look like someone who's wondering what the hell they've gotten themselves into."

Unwelcome visions of his ship caught in a gravity well the size of Jupiter's made his blood run cold. Had he made a horrible mistake?

"Stop worrying, Sheppard. We all agreed to this. Besides, I've seen the specs on McKay's probe. It's got a good chance of working."

Teyla came up behind John and gently pulled him into the passageway. "Brooding isn't going to help. If you keep hovering over Ronon's shoulder, it's only going to distract him while he's trying to plot our new course."

"I wasn't hovering. I was looking out the port screen. The view helps me think." 

"I'm not sure that Ronon sees it that way." She gave him a patient, fond look. John hated that look. It generally meant he'd screwed something up. 

"I believe you'll find the view every bit as nice from the pilot's chair, John," she added, with a hint of steel in her voice.

He sighed. She was right. Nav was as compact as everything else on the little ship. There was very little elbow room between Ronon's six-foot-plus frame, the computer, the displays, and the rest of the equipment. There remained even less room after they'd carved out a place for Rodney to set up some of his equipment. 

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Thanks."

"All part of my job to make certain the captain doesn't drive his crew crazy."

"Gee, thanks. Hey, Teyla, if you're here, who's flying the ship?"

"Rodney."

"Rodney?" John hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm just going to—"

"Yes, I thought you might."

He turned and walked very quickly toward the flight deck, all while pretending he didn't hear Teyla's soft chuckle from behind.

~*~

John stood in the hatchway and observed Rodney's piloting technique. As long as traveling in a straight line didn't matter, he did all right. Since no immediate crash loomed, John took an extra minute to let his heart rate steady before he spoke. Leaning against the wall, feigning an easy stance he was far from feeling, he asked, "How's she handling?"

"Captain Sheppard! How long have you been standing there?" Rodney asked, turning his head in surprise.

"Twenty minutes. Eyes on the viewscreen, McKay."

Rodney immediately turned back to the viewscreen. "Why didn't you say—oh, ha, very funny." He shot a crooked smile in John's direction. "Nice try."

John moved up behind him and laid a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "Do you think—maybe—that you shouldn't try to fly solo until you've had more than ten minutes behind the stick?"

"Maybe. But I'm doing pretty good," Rodney said, his face glowing with earnest pride. 

John's heart did a funny flip that had nothing to do with Rodney's piloting skill. "Yeah, McKay, you're doing good—all things considered." 

"Um...I suppose you want to take over?" Rodney asked, lifting his hands from the controls. 

John made a grab for the joystick and held it steady. "That might be a good idea. We'll be coming up on the wormhole soon and I need to slow us down. Pretty sure you haven't had the lesson on reversing the thrusters yet. Besides, don't you have a probe to build?" 

"Right. I'll just go..." Rodney got up, giving the pilot's chair a last wistful glance before leaving.

John slid into the pilot's seat with a sigh of relief. Somewhere between watching Rodney's hand on the joystick and feeling the warmth of his crooked smile, John must have lost several minutes without noticing because suddenly the jump point swung into view. 

Its huge maw loomed dead ahead, dormant and waiting to be fired up. Right now, the soft glow of orange running lights led to a dark trail straight down its gullet. The portal was an impressive piece of technology even when dormant.

He flipped on the intercom. "Ronon, initiate power to the wormhole on my mark."

"Wait!" Rodney's voice came in over the intercom. "You said that the ship can create its own jump point now. Why don't we use that?"

"Because there's no reason not to use the system that's already in place. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't question my orders in front of the crew. Just because I don't not like you doesn't give you a pass to forget I'm the Captain."

"Yes yes, sorry...oh. You don't not like me?" Rodney asked over the open channel making John wish he'd bitten off his own tongue about fifteen seconds ago. 

Damn. How in hell had he let Rodney McKay, this mouthy, annoying hitchhiker, get under his skin so quickly? Pinching the bridge of his nose, John vowed to deal with the fallout later. Much later. 

"Ronon, send the ignition code, now." John kept his eyes on the viewscreen as the wormhole powered up with all the fanfare of a pretty girl batting her eyelashes—quietly and impossible to look away from.

Once activated, an intense, white glow sparked around the outside edges of the portal. Spirals of deepening blue filled the interior leading to a deep, black hole in the center. Visually, he got why some referred to passage through the wormhole as poking the eye. But John couldn't shake the feeling that he was flying straight down into the gullet of a giant whale. He hit the ship-wide intercom. "Prepare for the bounce." 

Steady on the stick, he concentrated on making a smooth, easy flight straight down its center. 

"On target," Ronon announced. 

The strange elongated sensation only lasted a second and then they were through. Every one of John's nerves was attuned to the changes around his ship. Scientists claimed that hyperspace didn't have any turbulence. Bullshit. John knew better, just like every other pilot with hyperspace experience did.

"Good jump, Sheppard."

"Thanks, buddy. At least this bounce felt normal. Do we know yet why the other one felt off?" 

"No idea. Why don't you ask McKay? It seems like he'd be into that kind of stuff." 

Damn. Rodney hadn't reacted well to his first bounce, he might have had a bad reaction to this one too. John opened a private channel. "Carson, come in."

"Here. What do you need, lad?"

"Check on McKay for me."

"Aye. To see if he's suffering again from bounce affliction. His first ride was a tad rough. I'm on it."

"Thank you." John leaned back in relief. Not quite the same as checking on Rodney himself but it would do for now.

It took a while, but finally, the tension began to bleed from his shoulders. John stretched his neck to work out the kinks. This entire job had him on edge but at least they'd started off well. "Teyla, come take over. I need to check on something."

She must have been waiting for his command because she was there almost before John finished speaking. 

"We're not putting the ship on autopilot?" she asked. 

"Not if I don't have to. This job's dangerous enough as it is. I don't want to run into any surprises."

Most pilots liked hyperspace travel. All they had to do was set the guidance controls, sit back, and relax. But John and his crew were heading into uncharted territory. Relaxing was the furthest thing from his mind. 

He handed over control and she slid gracefully into the pilot's seat. 

"I’m headed to engineering. Give me a heads up if anything feels off."

She nodded. "John, what's our ETA?"

"Still figuring that part out. Keep our speed steady," he tapped the chronometer, "and match our time and orientation with the distance between the last two jumps. If all goes well, that's where we'll set up the new array."

She nodded. "There's something else bothering you. What is it?"

"This isn’t like our usual salvage gig and I guess I'm feeling a little out of my depth. Plus, I still can't figure out how McKay got on board."

"If Rodney can make our work safer, then perhaps it is a blessing that he is here," she said. 

Somehow, Teyla managed to say things with a calming dose of serenity that John couldn't hope to match on a good day.

"You think I should worry less and be more grateful for his help?" 

"I think that our course is set and we have little choice now. Rodney's presence may be unexpected, but he seems like a good man. Perhaps you should try to get to know him better."

John groaned.

~*~

He entered engineering and was faced with the sight of Rodney bent over and cooing over one of the probes like a proud papa. John stomped down hard on the squishy feelings that raised. McKay was an uninvited intruder. He should probably try to remember that.

Schooling his expression, he stepped up and peered over Rodney's shoulder. "How's it coming?"

"Surprisingly well."

"It looks kind of small."

"Believe it or not, size doesn't always matter," Rodney huffed. "This little gem may very well save our lives."

"Hm, so you say. Bi-directional communication via the wormhole has never been done before. You're certain this will work?" John took a step back to better appreciate Rodney's sputter of outrage.

His hands were in motion moving almost as fast as his mouth. "It should be obvious to any idiot that calls himself a scientist that the radio waves moving between hyperspace and normal space are never going to bridge—"

"Easy, McKay. Short version, please."

"Radio frequencies get twisted in the space-fold. A problem no one has been able to solve until now. Yours truly has just invented what I like to call an Anti-twist."

"Great." John narrowed his eyes. "We can name it later."

"You know, Captain—"

"Call me John."

"John. I was surprised that you trusted me enough to give me free rein of your engine room."

"Well, you do make a pretty good engine."

"So, you do believe me."

"I checked you out. I mean I had Teyla run a check on your identity. Dr. Rodney McKay. I figured that the man who designed the very same engine taking him into space wasn't going to turn around and wreck it. Besides if anything happens to my ship your ass is in just as much trouble as ours."

Feeling slightly embarrassed letting his concern show, John asked, "Did Carson see you?"

"He did. I'm fine. Guess I'm getting my space legs under me."

"That's good. That first bounce you felt? It wasn't a normal bounce. I've got my crew looking into it."

"I might have an idea about that too. I was standing in a crop circle just before…never mind. It sounds ridiculous." Rodney stared down at his feet. So... when you said you didn't not like—"

"I said," John interrupted, "that you did a good job with this and now I need to check in with Ronon."

"Right." Slowly, Rodney raised his eyes to meet John's. "Understood. Go ahead, I'll just finish up here."

John met Ronon coming out of the ship's tiny infirmary. "Everything okay?" 

"Fine. I just wanted to check in on Carson and let him know he didn't have to worry. He's still a little nervous about crashing into some unknown planet when we enter normal space. I told him that you were too good a pilot to let that happen."

"Thanks." John had known Carson for years and was the first person he'd asked to join his crew. Seeing the strong friendship spring up between Carson and Ronon had been a surprise. What the two of them found in common he couldn't guess, and he didn't plan on asking. The last thing he wanted to know is that they'd bonded over haggis. 

Ronon, get to nav and work out an ETA on our arrival. While you're at it find us the best place to punch a hole into normal space. I'm heading to the flight deck to relive Teyla. Send me the data as soon as you have it.

~*~

John split his attention between the viewscreen and watching the chronometer. Hyperspace ran by its own rules and a pilot ignored that at his ship's peril. Teyla gently touched his shoulder, offering quiet encouragement. Knowing she'd keep an eye on the instruments for him, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of flying.

Scientists said the ripples didn't exist but any pilot worth their salt knew differently. John rested his hands lightly on the controls and felt for the minor shifts in vibration caused by the currents of hyperspace gently buffeting against his ship's hull.

Flying in normal space wasn't remotely like this. Here, tied into his ship, John could sense the changes as if it were his own skin. And there it was, the wave frequency he'd been looking for. "All stop. Hold position."

"All stop," Teyla calmly announced. "Impulse engine reverse thrust. Holding position."

With a mental shake, he looked up to see Carson standing next to him with a cup of coffee. 

"Go on, take it," Carson said, holding out the cup. "You'll never admit it, but I know what riding the currents does to you. This'll help." He winked. "It's got a bit of my mum's favorite mixed in."

John took a cautious sip. Yep. Mum's favorite had quite a kick to it. He licked his lips. "Thanks."

They both looked expectantly at him. Right. They had a job to do. John took another sip of his drink trying to cover up his lapsed attention span. It didn't usually take him this long to adjust back into his own skin. He hit the intercom. "Rodney, coordinate with Ronon. Be ready to launch the probe on my mark."

Ronon's voice came in over the comm. "We're ready."

Rodney chimed in, "Telemetry and tracking are green. Coordinates are laid in. We're as ready as we're going to get."

After a quick glance at the panel, John turned his gaze back to the viewscreen. "Initialize jump," he commanded. 

The access point began as a small abnormality and rapidly grew. Light spiraled out from the center until it was large enough for a ship the size of the _Atlantis_ to fly through. Why the jump access looked differently inside hyperspace remained a mystery, but if he squinted, he imagined he could see the intersect point. 

"Ronon, send the probe through as soon as we have a stable connection." John watched the probe's trajectory on the viewscreen and inwardly cheered as it entered the wormhole.

The seconds ticked by. Nervous tension prickled up John's spine. "Rodney, status report." 

"It worked, Sheppard, just like I said it would," Rodney crowed. "Not that there was any doubt. And—yes—it punched through into clear space. I'm not picking up any traces of space debris, radiation or gravitational interference. It's safe for us to go through."

John handed his coffee cup to Carson. "Keep that warm for me." Hands back on the controls and keeping to impulse power, he began their final approach.

The rumble of the ship's engine announced the bounce seconds ahead of the change. Even without it, John felt the moment when hyperspace ceased pressing against the ship's hull. He barely had time to register the disconnect before they were back in normal space and surrounded by an unfamiliar starfield. 

He couldn't wipe the pleased grin off his face. "It really worked." For the first time in what felt like hours, his lungs had enough air to breathe.

"I think it's time to take a break and celebrate," Teyla said, with a grin that matched his own. "Kanaan has made a cake for the occasion. He had no doubts that we would be successful."

"You and Carson go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a minute." John watched them leave to join the rest of his crew in an impromptu celebration. He slowly finished his coffee, making a mental note to thank Carson. 

His hand hesitated over the auto-pilot before he switched it on and set the controls to hold at their current position. They still had an array to install and test, new star maps to log, and somewhere in there, he had to find a way to thank Rodney for helping them stay alive.

~*~

John floated in space held in place by a safety strap he'd hooked to the array. At the moment, he was grateful his EVA suit kept the sweat from rolling down his brow. At least something was working right.

"Problem, Captain?" Rodney's voice came in over the radio. "Try not to damage the multimillion credit device."

"It's stuck," John growled. "It's been stuck for the past fifteen minutes."

"Well, put some muscle into it!" 

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? The wrench keeps slipping off the bolt. Besides, I thought these things were indestructible." 

The arrays were built of the same stuff that fueled the _Atlantis_. More or less. Dark matter emissions were scooped up and fed into a compression sequencer. The end result was a purplish, high-energy crystal that provided a safe, constant, power source. 

As power went, a single array held more crystals than the _Atlantis_ could use up in fifty years. To hear Rodney tell it, it was both the number and arrangement that made the wormhole jumps stable. John knew the theory but Rodney could probably recite the physics behind it in his sleep.

None of it would do a damn bit of good if he couldn't get—it—to—open. "Put some muscle into it, my ass— whoa." It moved. Finally. 

Maybe next time he'd get pissed off first. Better yet, next time he was sending Ronon out to do this. 

Firing up his jetpack, John made his way back to the ship grateful to have this part over. Through the airlock window he could see Rodney impatiently waiting for him on the other side. 

As soon as he was safely back on board, he removed his helmet. His hair rioted in a dozen directions and John furtively tried to pat it down into some kind of order. 

Rodney snorted. "You're wasting your time. Obviously your hair has a life of it's own, Sheppard."

John gave up. Rodney wasn't wrong. "Did you want something, McKay?"

"I thought you might like to watch the unfolding with me." Rodney looked both eager and unaccountably shy.

John blinked. Was Rodney asking him on a date? Because it sounded like…. Nope. He was being ridiculous. 

"You probably don't want to, with me. After all, you have your whole crew to watch with." Rodney's hands were twisting themselves into knots and that was just plain painful to watch. 

"Sure," John agreed, and that's when he noticed. 

"Rodney, what happened to your hands?" 

"Oh, this?"

"Yes—oh this." John gently grabbed one of Rodney's hands by the wrist. The way he held his hand John could tell it was stiff and sore. "Are these burn marks? Have you been to see Carson?"

"No no, that's just carbon residue. There was a minor accident with the soldering gun." He wiggled his hand free from John's hold. 

"What happened?" John asked. 

"My hands are just cramped from rewiring meters of micro-circuitry It's nothing." Rodney shoved his hands behind his back. 

"Uh-huh. Come with me. I need to get out of this suit first and I've got just the thing to help your hands."

Back in his quarters, John made Rodney sit and wait while he changed. 

"Don't forget to put the suit back where it belongs, and my hands are perfectly fine." Rodney groused.

Yeah, he believed that. He could hear Rodney's soft ouches of complaint from here. He tossed u a t-shirt and jeans and, still barefoot, came out of the bathroom and sat down across from Rodney. 

"Give me your hand, McKay."

"This isn't going to hurt, is it?" Rodney cautiously held out his hand.

"No, it's not going to hurt, you big baby." John gently began massaging Rodney's hand. "I had a lot of odd jobs before becoming captain of the _Atlantis_.

Rodney groaned as John it a tight patch, but since he didn't try to pull his hand away, John kept going.

"Would you believe me if I told you an old gypsy woman taught me how to do this?" 

"No."

John laughed. "It's true. If you can picture the old, gypsy woman as a wiry, seventy-year-old carny with a bald head and a handlebar mustache. I only lasted three weeks on that job and busted my hands up pretty good on the ropes. He took pity on me. Old Bob showed me how to take care of my hands, and how to tie a hitch knot. Those were the only two things I learned from it."

"Do the other one, now." Rodney switched hands. "Will you show me how to do that?"

"Sure."

Rodney looked more relaxed than John had seen him since they'd met. He was still holding his hand, massage forgotten. His neck was bent, his soft, fine hair practically tempting John to touch it.

Suddenly, John had a vision of the two of them, years from now, sitting just like this. He'd tease Rodney about his expanding widow's peak and going bald, Rodney would tease him in kind about how white his hair had grown.

"Ow." Rodney pulled his hand back.

"Ah, sorry. I got distracted." John cleared his throat. "We should probably see to unfolding the array. I think the rest of the crew is waiting for us."

"Right. No sense in putting it off," Rodney agreed with a sweet, tentative smile.

Oh, right. This could maybe, possibly be a date. John could ask so that he'd know for sure, but could only lead to awkwardness and pain.

~*~

"Teyla, send the bootup code over to the array," John commanded.

Rodney came over to his side, close enough that John could hear the tiny hitch in his breath. "Anxious, McKay?" 

"No. Maybe. I just hope you didn't break it."

"I didn't break—oh, wow." 

Rodney stepped closer to the viewpoint for a better look. "Oh my, that is impressive. I knew what was supposed to happen, but I never pictured it looking like that." 

"It reminds me of when I was a little kid making paper snowflakes," John said

"Seriously?"

John rolled his eyes. "Didn't you ever make cut-out paper snowflakes as a kid?"

"Somehow I managed to miss that underwhelming event."

John just shook his head. They watched the array as it unfolded in the silence of space like some giant, alien, crystal snowflake. The damn thing was bigger than John expected and he quickly checked the transponder to make certain they were far enough away. 

Rodney pointed to the now fully unfolded array. "See that? That configuration, well that and the power matrix, is what makes a stable wormhole. It can hold a wormhole open for thirty-eight minutes unlike your ship's jump lens and its tiny, two-minute window." 

Folding his arms across his chest, John shot him a frozen smile. "I'll have you know, two minutes is more than enough time for a pilot with my skills."

"It's not your fault that you have a little, bitty crystal compared to that," Rodney teased.

"You're not helping your case here," John stated flatly.

"Oh. In that case, let's go see if there's any cake left."

"Wise, decision, McKay." Cake. Was that date night food? Damn if John knew. The last date he could remember involved a couple of beers and a black eye. 

The galley was too small to eat in so they took their cake to the conference room. John sat with his feet up while Rodney sang Kanaan's praises as he slowly licked the icing off his fork.

John's belly tightened, and he had to take a slow, deep breath before he could say anything. 

Currently, they had the room to themselves. "How long—" John cleared his throat to bring his voice down an octave. "How long do you think it will take for Ronon to finish?"

"Well," Rodney said, fork flying down for another bite. "You, oh noble and wise Captain, just put your navigator in charge of mapping the position of all these new stars and planets we've just discovered. 

"Lucky for you, I foresaw this." There went the fork waving through the air again. "I programmed the on-board computer with a compression algorithm. As long as Ronon doesn't get distracted, he should have the scans finished and loaded by morning.

"Rodney, you're a genius. I mean it." 

Cartography wasn't something he'd factored in the time for, but once Ronon had pointed out that they'd be the very first to chart this area of space John decided to make the time.

"So…" Rodney said, a faint hint of color rising in his cheeks. "We seem to be alone."

"Yeah," John husked. Definitely a date. 

They spent the next hour talking about almost everything: favorite books, movies, bad travel experiences. It didn't escape John's attention that no one had walked in on them—a rare bit of privacy on the small ship. Somehow, their chairs had moved closer until they were sitting side by side, elbows touching. 

Rodney kept glancing up at him through his ridiculously long eyelashes and John kept losing the thread of the conversation. He laid his hand on the table next to Rodney's, just short of touching. "I should probably go check on things but…this is nice, right? I mean, maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Yes, um…." Rodney moved his hand just enough to that his pinky finger rubbed against John's. "I think I'd like that."

"Good—that's good." John's heart pounded in his chest but he managed to stand without his knees giving out. "I'm just gonna get back to…."

"Yeah, me too." Rodney ducked his head. "Oh, the plates. I should probably wash…."

"Un-huh." John starting backing out of the room before he could turn into any more of a girl. "Later then." 

The last thing he saw was Rodney's pleased smile before turning and heading for the flight deck.

~*~

Rodney pried open the cover and gently pulled out the circuit board. Yes, the last RF probe had worked, but he was sure he could make this one even better.

"Whatcha doing?" 

Startled, Rodney almost dropped the screwdriver. "John! I didn't hear you come in."

"Ronon said you were working on something so I'd thought I'd come by and check it out." 

"I'm trying to boost the signal between the ship and the Anti-twist."

John winced. "I thought we agreed to name it later." 

Rolling right over that comment, Rodney continued "If I can boost the signal, I can use my compression algorithm to get more detailed information transferred between normal and hyperspace."

"Okay." 

"You're still not getting it. Instead of depending on radio transmission, I think we can get visual. Just imagine what that would mean." Rodney watched John's face waiting for the implications to sink in.

"Visual? That's impossible. You're talking about creating a viewing window between normal space and hyperspace. Damn, I could see what I was flying into! Do you think you can really do this?"

"Yes. Probably. Maybe? All right, I'll admit it's a long shot and probably can't be done. It's still worth a try." Rodney said. 

He stared down at his feet before lifting his gaze to meet John's eyes. "If I do this, it would be something to celebrate. The two of us. Together. Wouldn't it?"

"You bet your ass. Rodney, if you can do something like this, what the hell were you doing wasting your time with crop circles?"

"Oh, that." Rodney smiled weakly. "I lost a bet to Radek Zelenka. 

John's eyebrows rose. "Must have been a hell of a bet.

Rodney didn't feel inclined to elaborate. In fact, if he never had to think of that particular embarrassment again it would be all too soon.

Once John left, he got back to work. On a ship this size, it was tough to carve out any alone time. But if doing the impossible was what it took to get John to go out on another date with him, then that's exactly what he'd do. Humming, Rodney picked up his screwdriver and got back to work.

~*~

John stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips. By dint of being captain, his personal quarters had an adjoining bath. Granted, it was streamlined to save space like everything else on his ship, but at least he could take a shower and wash his hair without banging his elbows.

He ran his fingers through his damp hair and called it good enough. He went over to his desk and pulled up the equipment manifest. John expanded the holo-image of every single piece of equipment that had been loaded onto his ship by the League's crew. By the time he was done, there were twenty-seven different items in colorful, 3-D detail hovering over his bed.

Gateway expansion grew year by year, one array placement at a time, but this had been an ambitious mission from the get-go. They'd started with four crystal arrays—worth a couple of million credits each, assorted tools for assembly, some harnesses, and safety equipment, and the final piece; a crystal jump lens the League mechanics had integrated into his ship. 

They had one last array left to install and then they could head home. He was in the middle of checking his list when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in."

Rodney barreled into John's room like his ass was on fire, talking so fast it was almost a babble. 

"Slow down, McKay." John steered Rodney to the nearest chair and made him sit. "What are you talking about? Does this have something to do with the improvements you're trying to make on the probe?"

Rodney nodded. His wild burst of energy drained away and his shoulders slumped. Sounding defeated, he admitted, "I can't make it work." 

"We both knew it was a long shot. It's late and you look worn-out. Making mistakes from exhaustion isn't going to help. Besides, I could use a break myself." John let some of his weariness show. Piloting in hyperspace was taking its toll, and while he'd normally never admit it to anyone, he didn't mind sharing that weakness with Rodney.

"Why don't you stay and watch a movie with me?" John's fingers tightened on the towel around his waist. Rodney's answer seemed like the most important thing in the world right now. They'd all been so busy going over the ship that they hadn't had a chance to spend any downtime together. He was beginning to realize just how much he'd missed that.

"You're sure?" The tips of Rodney's ears turned pink. "Are you planning on wearing just a towel the entire time?" 

"What? No?" John felt the heat rise on his cheeks. He'd completely forgotten his state of undress. "Í didn't mean to suggest—I wasn't trying to proposition you. God. Not that I haven't thought about—" He clamped his jaw shut before he could make things worse. 

Rodney held up his hand. "This is getting painful. Put your pants on, and let's just watch the damn movie."

John grabbed his clothes. "This is…nice. I've been so busy with the ship…."

A smile lit up Rodney's eyes. "I missed you, too, you know. Getting that second array unfolded went well though, even if it's not as dramatic the second and third time around."

"Just one more to go. I don't mind telling you that I'm getting damn sick of flying through hyperspace."

"You could have Teyla doing more of the flying, or put the ship on auto-pilot," Rodney said.

"I could, but Teyla doesn't have the same feel for it, and I don't like using the auto-pilot while we're in an unknown region of hyperspace."

Showing more tact than John expected of him, Rodney turned to pick out a movie while he dressed. As a spur of the moment date went—could he call this a date? With a sidelong glance, he checked to see what Rodney was doing, hoping for some clue.

Rodney's embarrassed gaze quickly shifted from John's ass back to the shelf. Oh yeah, Rodney had been checking him out. Cool.

~*~

The next morning, John stepped onto the flight deck with a whistle and a grin. Rodney had stayed with him last night. While all they had done was sleep, being woken up with a soft, drowsy kiss, and the scratch of Rodney's morning stubble against his cheek had felt like a promise.

Teyla looked up at him from the pilot's chair. "You're looking well-rested, John. Would you like to take over?"

"Naw, you can guide us back into normal space this time."

She shot him a quiet smile before calmly getting back to the job at hand. "We're in position. Ronon, please initiate a jump point and launch the probe." 

"Probe away," Ronon said. 

"How's it looking, McKay?" John asked.

"Give me a few more—damn. The good news is we didn't blow up," Rodney's voice grumbled over the radio.

John waited a half-beat before asking, "And the bad news?"

"We lost the probe. The signal failed five seconds after the probe entered normal space."

John felt the blood drain from his face. "Rodney, tell me we didn't miss something." If they couldn't safely jump back into normal space they were screwed.

"The equipment is fine," Rodney reassured him. The data suggests that the probe came out too close to a sun."

"Shut the wormhole down, John ordered, "and let's try again in another sector."

"Closure confirmed," Ronon said. "New coordinates acquired at 140 degrees starboard. Opening a new access point. Second probe away."

John steadily watched as this one passed through the newly opened jump point. "Give me some good news, people."

Long seconds ticked by.

"It's good." Rodney's voice sounded light with relief. "Readings indicate that we've got clear space in all directions."

Carson stepped onto the flight deck. "I heard the news. Bit of a relief isn't it? I don’t mind admitting I was on tenterhooks waiting to find out if it worked."

"I know the feeling," John admitted. "I had a moment there, myself. Teyla, take us through."

As she piloted towards the center of the wormhole, John opened the ship-wide intercom. "Prepare for the bounce in twelve seconds."

He looked over at Carson and grinning. "It's about time we had some good luck."

"There now, lad, you've jinxed us," Carson teased in mock horror."

John was about to deny it when an explosion rocked the ship. "Teyla!"

"I'm on it." Her hands flew over the console, tracking the damage as warning lights lit up all across the board.

"Report!" John snapped. "Is everyone all right?"

"I have Kanaan on the radio," Teyla said. "He is fine. Ronon reports minor damage to nav."

"Rodney? Is Rodney okay?" 

She shook her head. "I can't raise engineering."

"Go check on him, John," Carson said. "I'll grab my kit from sickbay and join you as quickly as I can."

"Keep the ship steady, and try to hold this position."

"John, look." Teyla pointed to the viewscreen; they could see the wormhole collapsing in on itself.

John's blood ran cold. A few seconds difference and they'd have been trapped inside it.

"I've got this," she said." Go find Rodney." She began calling out the status report. "Gravity and life support are stable."

Her words continued, but John barely heard any of it as he ran to engineering, yelling over his radio, "Rodney! Talk to me!" 

Engineering was full of smoke, making it hard to see anything. With his sleeve over his mouth, he made his way to the controls and the manual override. The ventilation system kicked in and immediately began clearing the room. 

He spotted Rodney lying unconscious at the base of the main console. Kneeling, he laid a hand gently on Rodney's chest, relieved to feel its gentle rise and fall.

"I'm here, buddy. Looks like you took quite a bump, there," John said, eyeing the large goose egg on Rodney's forehead. 

"Don't move him." Carson entered the room at a run, medkit in hand. 

"He's not responding." John stood and stepped aside to give the doc room to work. 

"Aye, but he's breathing." Carson fit an oxygen mask over Rodney's face. "Easy there, laddie, we'll have you fixed up in no time."

John didn't realize he was hovering a little too closely until Carson's elbow smacked him in the leg. "Ow."

"Serves you right," Carson muttered. "I don't suppose you've told him how you feel about him yet? No, of course not. What was I thinking?"

"Is Rodney going to be okay?"

"I'll know more once I get him to sickbay, but his pulse is strong and nothing seems to be broken." Carson handed John an ice pack. "Put that on his head. If you're going to hover, you might as well be useful."

Rodney moaned and opened his eyes. "God, can't you turn down the lights? I've got a splitting headache. Carson? What are you—ow."

"Take it easy, Rodney. You've got a nasty bump," Carson said, helping him to sit up. "Do you know what happened?"

"No, but whatever it was put the main drive out of commission."

Rodney took John's hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes. I'm still waiting for the full report, but it looks like you and engineering took the worse of it." John turned to Carson. "Take care of him doc, I need to find out what kind of shape the rest of the ship is in."

Walking away hurt, his every footstep felt like a lead weight. Yes, he had to check on his ship and his people, but all he really wanted to do was to take Rodney back to his quarters and catalog every square inch of skin. John sighed. Carson was right, he'd have to man up soon and tell Rodney about feelings and stuff. Fuck.

~*~

John called the meeting to order. Having a fancy gavel to pound would have been nice, but he had to settle for clearing his throat. Loudly. Twice.

"As you all know, we've had something of a setback. Rodney was injured, and both nav and engineering took on damage. However, we've got a more immediate problem to deal with." John nodded at Rodney. "Tell them what you told me, McKay."

Rodney sat across the table from him. The lump on his head hadn't gone down much and was beginning to turn into a spectacular bruise. His left wrist was wrapped in an elastic bandage, and he still looked too pale for John's liking. 

Sounding exhausted, Rodney began by stating the obvious. "The explosion caused a significant amount of damage to engineering, but it's fixable."

He paused, and John knew he was carefully measuring his next words.

"The jump crystal is fractured and without it, we're not getting out of hyperspace." Rodney wiped across his face with his good hand. He looked up, meeting John's gaze with a look of defeat. 

A collective breath of shock went around the table.

"I need a supply audit from each department," John commanded. "Let's see exactly what we have to work with. Teyla, get up to the flight deck and run a system check on communications." John stood. 

"Rodney, come with me."

As soon as everyone stepped out of the conference room, John led Rodney to his quarters. The word _led_ being slightly inaccurate as John kept his hand on the back of Rodney's neck and pushed his reluctant and morose engineer along in front of him the entire way.

"What now?" Rodney asked quietly. 

There was all kinds of wrong with a meek McKay and it set John's teeth on edge. 

"It's my fault we're stranded in hyperspace," Rodney said. "If I'd had more foresight—or more imagination—if I'd anticipated—"

"The great Rodney McKay failed to anticipate a freak accident. Imagine that." 

That got a surprised snort out of Rodney. 

"Besides, the way I see it," John continued, "We might be stranded here until we can figure a way out, but if we hadn't had your probe to warn us about that sun we'd all just be a smear in hyperspace right now.

John gently eased Rodney toward the chair. "Sit down." 

He poured them both a drink. 

"What is this?" Rodney held up the glass of amber liquid. 

"Carson dropped it off. Strictly for medicinal purposes. You looked like you could use it." He paused, ready to snatch the glass from Rodney's hand if necessary. "Wait. You're not on any painkillers, right?"

Rodney held up the glass, "Apparently, just this." He set his drink down without tasting it. "You really don't blame me?"

"If I blame anyone, it's me for taking this job in the first place." 

"Don't be an idiot," Rodney huffed.

"At least you're starting to sound like yourself. I was getting worried."

"Is that why you brought me here?" Rodney glanced around John's quarters as if the walls were suddenly going to burst out with answers. 

"Could be. Or it could be that I wanted to talk to you privately because you're my best friend, and I didn't want to sit here and think about how screwed we are all by myself."

"Or," John leaned back in his chair, "I thought about how nobody knows this ship better than you—unless it's me. Maybe between the two of us, we can figure a way out of this mess."

"Okay." With that old familiar determination, John had been hoping to see, Rodney firmed his chin and in a stronger voice repeated, "Okay. Yes. Let's do this." Rodney snapped his fingers. "Engineering access, Captain Sheppard's quarters."

A wide 3-D screen appeared above the table. "What do you want to look at first? Engineering or the hull?" Rodney asked.

"Good question. Let's see the damage to the jump lens first." 

The image popped up, and John whistled low and soft. The crystal, normally a translucent blue cylinder the size of a six-inch-thick dinner plate, had been completely fried. It was a dull gray now. The image zoomed in on several large cracks in the lens.

Rodney reached into the hologram and enlarged the image revealing dozens of fractures and broken wiring. 

"That's a real mess. Guess weren't not getting out of here anytime soon." John said, trying to keep the dismay out of his voice. 

"John, even if I had the equipment to handle the delicate repairs, it would take years."

"Well, at least we won't run out of power. We can cannibalize one of the power crystals in our last array if we have to. That gives us—oh about a thousand years of fuel in the tank." 

"Fantastic. We'll be able to keep the lights on the entire time we're starving to death."

"Rodney, we're not going to die in hyperspace. I won't let that happen."

"And there it is, a side of self-delusion to go along with a broken plate of certain death."

John glared. 

"It's getting late." Rodney stood. "I should probably go."

"Don't. I mean, you could stay. Here with me. If you wanted." John bit down on his tongue before he could say anything else stupid.

Rodney froze. He stood so still that John spent a few long seconds wondering if he had broken him.

"Oh my god, I think I know what happened!

~*~

"So, Kanaan, I was a little surprised when you asked me to call an informal meeting," John said.

"And I thank you for doing so, John."

"Well, to be honest, I was grateful for the distraction. We've been working on the repairs to the engine for three weeks now. I've hardly seen Rodney. Between repairing the engine and working on some theory of his, we've hardly had a chance to speak two words.

"As for piloting that's a no-go. We're stuck where we are until the engine is back online." John shot Kanaan a wry smile. "I think even Teyla is on edge."

"I'd noticed," Kanaan dryly agreed. He sat a plate of donuts down, dusted off his hands and began making a pot of coffee. "I'd planned to have everything ready by the time everyone got here but since you're early, help yourself to a donut."

"Planning to soften everyone up ahead of time?" John eyed the donuts with suspicion. "Just how nervous should I be about this idea of yours?"

"I wish to discuss a thought I had." He shrugged. "It's only an idea. At this point, what do we have left to lose?" 

One by one his crew drifted into the room and took their seats. His gaze drifted to where Rodney was sitting. Their eyes met and Rodney nodded. John hoped that meant good news. 

John pulled his attention back to the meeting. "Go ahead, Kanaan. Fill us in on your idea."

Kanaan squeezed Teyla's hand and she nodded her encouragement before he started speaking. 

"There are places among the planets where the local phenomena rule. Places where ships go missing and are never heard of again. Places people have traveled to and claimed afterward that they experienced a gap in time."

"The volcanic ruins on the planet Lienari is such a place, as is Earth's Bermuda Triangle," Teyla pointed out.

"Aye," Carson said, frowning. 'Scotland itself has a long history of mysteries but I don't see how that's doing us much good here."

"How many ships do you think have been lost in hyperspace over the years? A dozen? Twice that? More?" Kanaan slowly shook his head. "We have all heard the stories, but haven't you wondered? Where do they all go?"

John watched Rodney's face. Maybe Kanaan was onto something, as crazy as that seemed. Maybe not. But he'd learned by now that Rodney made a damn good weathervane between the impossible and slightly less impossible. 

"Not the Bermuda Triangle," Rodney said, with a sharp snap of his fingers. "The Sargasso Sea."

"The graveyard of ships lost at sea?" John asked. 

"Exactly!" Rodney grinned. When he finally noticed all the blank stares, including John's, he huffed in annoyance. "It's not entirely a myth. A number of derelict ships have been discovered there. It's been reported that at least one was found without a trace of her crew on board. 

"Anyway, that's not relevant at the moment. What is, is the school of thought that credits deep, slow currents and eddies being responsible for pulling the ships toward that destination only to get stuck."

Teyla, eyebrows raised, interrupted. "We are lost in hyperspace, Rodney. I think we should all find the idea of any ship found without a trace of her crew both relevant and concerning."

"Yes yes," Rodney brushed her comment off with an abrupt wave of his hand. "The important thing that you should be paying attention to is that Kanaan could be right." 

"Look around you. This is hardly the Sargasso Sea, lad," Carson protested. "What makes you think that this has anything to do with the predicament we're in now?"

"The currents. Weren't you listening?" Rodney turned to John and folded his arms across his chest, clearly expecting John to back him up. "You explain it, you're the pilot."

John slowly turned the coffee cup 'round in his hands, grabbing a few extra seconds to put his thoughts in order. 

"Hyperspace is pretty strange, who knows what's out there? However, assuming we let ourselves just drift the odds of ending up where we want to be seems…." Crazy, he wanted to say. It seemed fucking crazy, but he was almost desperate enough to go along with it.

"Why would we even do this?" Ronon asked.

"We need to replace the lens if we are ever going to leave this place." Kanaan pointed out. "Well, what if there's a whole graveyard of them just waiting to be salvaged?

Frankly, John thought Kanaan was nuts if he expected them just float along a hyperspace current until they ran into a junkyard of derelict spaceships. He shuddered. Just the idea of setting _Atlantis_ adrift made his stomach turn. 

On the other hand, what if it were true? Finding an abandoned ship to scavenge for parts seemed like a hell of a longshot, but right now it was all they had. John stood. "All right. You've got until the engine is repaired to think this over. Meeting adjourned."

Everyone left except for Rodney. He hung back like a man with something on his mind. 

"What is it, Rodney?" John asked.

"It's not going to be enough."

"I know," John stood up and began pacing. "Even if this crazy idea had a chance of working, it's going to take more time than we have. The rations are never going to last that long." 

Raking his hand through his hair John growled with frustration. "The backup plan was always to find an M-class planet and forage for food and water if we had to. But getting stranded in hyperspace isn't anything we planned for."

Rodney shook his head. "It's not entirely hopeless. There is one way."

John stopped in his tracks. "Hit me with it."

"If we're going to do this, you're going to have to pilot the ship. I'm sorry. I know it's not ideal, and I know what riding the currents does to you. I'm just not seeing any other option. You're going to have to find the right current, John, and then fly the hell out of it." 

"Shit." He knew Rodney was right. Just drifting wasn't an option. They'd be dead before they got there. Might all end up all dead anyway, but at least he'd be doing something.

"I'll have the engine up and running by tomorrow," Rodney promised. "The rest is up to you."

"Gee, thanks, McKay."

As they left, John saw Ronon standing just outside the door. He must have overheard the entire exchange because he clapped John on the shoulder and gave him a fond shake. "If anyone can do this, Sheppard, you can."

~*~

Sweat dripped down from his forehead and Rodney wiped it away with the back of his hand leaving behind a streak of grease. "Miserable piece of..." he muttered under his breath.

He'd promised John he'd have the engine working by tomorrow and by god it would be if he had to stay up all night to do it. 

"How's it going?" John asked. 

"Like crap." Rodney grinned up at him. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, well it's not like I have a whole lot to do until you get this fixed. Need a hand?"

John was leaning against the bulkhead, easy and relaxed, and looking good enough to eat. 

Rodney kept his whimper to himself. He'd given up on the space Stockholm syndrome theory after the first week. John was just—and Rodney was—and he'd be damned if he could explain it. Somehow they fit together.

He snapped his fingers. "Hand me that wrench."

John did, their fingers brushing together in the process. It was gratifying to hear John's breath catch and know he wasn't the only one affected. Not that this was the time or place to do anything about it. 

"You said you thought you'd figured out what caused the explosion, McKay, and then you went rushing off. Tell me now." 

Rodney talked as he worked. "You'll think it's crazy."

"Crazy as trying to find the Sargasso Sea of hyperspace?" John snorted. 

"Point. You know the principle behind the bounce, right? Initiating a jump point creates a magnetic frequency around the ship—"  
"  
"I know all that," McKay.

"Right. Crop circles, at least the one I was standing in, emit a basic amount of radiofrequency radiation. I was getting a baseline of twenty electromagnetic volts. Just before I was beamed aboard your ship, the reading jumped to five times that."

"Which means what?" John asked, looking adorable confused. Rodney stared, momentarily losing his train of thought.

"It means…it means that there's a connection between the magnetic frequency of crop circles and the bounce."

"Still clear as mud, McKay. Wait, are you saying that you're here on my ship because of some kind of short-circuit?"

Rodney scowled. "That's an oversimplification, but not entirely wrong." 

"So, what caused the explosion?"

"My working theory," Rodney answered, "is that the bounce itself creates a feedback loop. When enough electrostatic charge builds all that energy has to go somewhere. As to how I ended up on your ship via crop circle…I haven't figured that part out yet."

John had the nerve to smirk at him and deadpanned, "I'm not saying it's aliens, but…."

"Oh, shut up. If it turns out that Radek is right after all, I'll never hear the end of it."

"So?" John asked, "Why haven't we heard about this little problem before?"

"I assume that the League doesn't want it to be common knowledge. Besides, most ships aren’t triggering the bounce as frequently as we've been doing. Given more time between bounce exposure, the charge has time to harmlessly dissipate. And, now, I think I've hurt your brain with too many big words." 

"Very funny. My brain likes big words just fine."

Rodney grinned. "What is it with you and size, Sheppard?" He stood up and stuck the wrench back in the toolbox. "She's all fixed."

John released a deep breath. "Guess I'm not getting out of this."

~*~

John's ass was in the pilot's seat for what felt like forever. All he needed to do was find one current of hyperspace out of dozens, one that would take them to a mythical graveyard of spaceships. One miserable, elusive current that never seemed to be where he thought it should be.

By now, he'd spent so much time in the pilot's chair he could barely remember what his own bed and pillow felt like. He needed to sleep and, damn it, he was really starting to miss Rodney. 

He blinked, trying to clear his vision but it didn't help. The flight deck seemed infused by a pale, yellow glow and he was too tired to figure out where it was coming from. 

Time became a slippery thing. He remembered strong arms helping him up from the pilot's chair, and a hot drink pressed into his hands. Someone was shining a light in his eyes and taking his temperature all while making soft sounds of dismay. 

"Who there?" 

"It's Carson, lad, and Rodney's here too. It's been a bloody month since you started looking for this damn current and you've barely left the pilot's seat." He turned to look at Rodney.  
I don't think he can take much more. Can you get him to his quarters?" 

"I've got him," Rodney got on arm under John and helped him stand up. 

"Rodney, your streams are all smooth and shiny," John slurred. "How come I never noticed before?" John clumsily patted Rodney on the chest. "It would be so easy to slide into you. You don't mind, do you?"

For some reason, Rodney's face turned red and he began sputtering. John was having a hard time understanding him. Concerned, he patted Rodney again. "Okay. Maybe later."

He couldn't remember how he got to his quarters or how he ended up in bed, but he came to when he felt someone tugging on his feet. "Whazz?"

"Close your eyes and go to sleep, fly-boy. I'm just taking off your boots so you'll be more comfortable." Rodney said. 

He gently squeezed John's ankle. "You've given all of us a scare I hope you know. Carson's laid down the law. You're to get at least six hours of sleep. No disruptions. Plus, Kanaan has plans for some kind of fancy dinner later to tempt you into eating."

"Stay."

"But Carson said…"

"Stay."

Rodney pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

"Good. You have very shiny, restful streams," John said, trying to be encouraging. But now, Rodney looked worried again. It was on the tip of his tongue to try to explain how it helped, how the currents in Rodney's insides anchored him, but he fell into exhausted sleep before the words could form.

~*~

"It's not your fault, Teyla," John heard Ronon say. "Sheppard's ability is different—rare. I've never even heard of anyone being able to sense hyperspace currents. If there's anyone else that can do what he does, they're being quiet about it."

John stood on the other side of the doorway shamelessly listening in. A glance at his watch told him he'd been out of it for eight hours. He rubbed his eyes. He'd come to the mess for something to eat, not to eavesdrop on his crew, but Teyla's next words stopped him in his tracks. 

"He began talking strangely as though he is not entirely in this world. It has me frightened. You are not?" Teyla asked. 

There was a long pause before Ronon answered. "Carson thinks he just needs to rest. And, if it's more than that, we'll watch out for him, just like we always do."

John puzzled over what the heck Teyla meant. I didn't think he'd said anything strange. On the other hand, knowing that his crew was watching out for him warmed his heart more than he cared to admit. 

"But rest for how long?" Rodney asked. "I'm not disagreeing. It's taking a toll on John, and I hate it just as much as you do. However, I shouldn't have to remind you that we're on a deadline, emphasis on the dead. Look at me like that all you want. I hate myself for pointing it out too, but that doesn't make it less true."

An intense quiet laid over the room and made the hair on John's arms stand up. Time to interrupt. 

"Hey, guys." John leaned against the doorway and waved. "Tell me you didn't drink all the coffee."

"John!" Teyla stood and reached out, catching his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. "It's good to see you on your feet."

"As you can see, I'm fine." Awkwardly he pulled away. Unsure of where to put his hands he shoved them into his pockets. "Just grabbing something to eat, doc's orders, and then I'll get back to it."

"Sit down, Sheppard." Ronon kicked out a chair out for John to sit in. "Besides, you don't want to insult Kanaan by not taking the time to enjoy the food. He made something special for you."

"What?" He didn't think he could choke down another reconstituted donut at this point. 

"It's a turkey sandwich." Ronon slid a plate over to him and set a mug of coffee down next to it. "Word is, you'll break his heart if you don't eat every bite."

"How in the hell did he get turkey?" John eyed the sandwich in front of him. It looked and smelled just like the real deal. 

He held up his hand. "Don't spoil it by telling me what it's really made of, guys. Please. Let a man have his dreams." 

After taking a big bite and slowly chewing, savoring the closest thing he'd had to turkey in months, John sat the sandwich down with a contented sigh. "Teyla, tell Kanaan he's outdone himself. I'm not even going to complain that we're supposed to be rationing. Speaking of, we might not have to ration much longer."

"You found it?" Rodney asked. "Of course, you did. That's why you stayed immersed in this last flight for so long."

"I found it." John sat back and grinned. Everyone was smiling now. They weren't out of the woods yet but they were a hell of a lot closer.

"Well, now what?"

"Now I go back and find that same current again. It should be easy now that I know what I'm looking for. With a little luck, it will guide us straight to the graveyard." John paused. "Okay, that might have been a bad choice of words."

He tried to stand, but the room wavered in front of him. John gripped the table edge and blinked to clear his vision. It didn't help. Teyla, Ronon, Rodney hadn't moved, but now he was looking into them not at them. Only he wasn't seeing bone and blood vessels. Instead, he could see currents; constantly swirling streams of motion and color. 

Oh, fuck no. John rubbed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he could sense the waves of Teyla's blue calm, and Ronon's fiery red energy. Rodney's electric white was familiar, something he'd sensed before and he found himself drawn to it like a moth to a flame. John forced himself to focus on that one steady pulse until his vision cleared.

"John, are you, all right?" Teyla asked. 

"Fine. Just need to—" He gripped his coffee mug to keep his hand from trembling. "I should get back to the pilot's seat. We're still on autopilot?"

Teyla looked distraught. "We're holding position. I didn't know what else to do."

"You did just fine. Like I said, I know what I'm looking for now." John made another effort to stand and this time legs stayed steady. "Rodney?"

"Right here." And suddenly he was. Rodney stood at his elbow. It was obvious he was trying to conceal his worry and was doing a crap job of it. 

"Come with me, McKay." He wanted Rodney along for a lot of reasons he wasn't ready to discuss. Including wishing he'd kiss him again—sometime when Rodney didn't think John was asleep. But, for now, he needed Rodney's presence to help him focus. 

"Me? Not Teyla?" 

"Not this time." John wasn't about to get into the subject of anchors or streams. 

Ronon reached over clapped his hand down on John's shoulder. "Get me one solid direction and I can plot a course that Teyla can follow. The two of you can go back to flying in shifts."

"Ronon, buddy, I can't tell you how good that sounds." John elbowed Rodney and said in his best zombie voice, "More sleeeep.

~*~

John stepped onto the flight deck towing Rodney behind him. Taking the pilot's seat he closed his eyes settling into that quiet place that let him feel the ship's skin like his own. Tangles in hyperspace as fine as spider's silk brushed the hull. Gradually, they thickened and grew into a current strong enough to guide his ship by.

"Rodney, take our heading." His throat was dry and he struggled to get the words out. "Tell Ronon it feels like a straight shot from here."

"I have it," Rodney said. "I'm sending the data to Ronon now." 

He knew it was Rodney's voice, but beyond that everything seemed out of focus. He thought he could hear him speaking to Teyla but the words were just sound waves buzzing around his head.

It took several long seconds before he realized the warm hand on his shoulder gently shaking him belonged to Teyla. 

"I'm good," he answered muzzily.

"You've been at it for six hours without a break. Carson will skin us both alive if you don't get out of that chair right now." Teyla's voice was gentle despite the threat.

"Uh."

"Here." Rodney held out a cup of hot coffee which John eagerly grabbed with both hands. "Do you need help?"

"I'm good, just give me a few minutes." Rodney was here, he hadn't left and John drank in the sight of him. Only, that wasn't quite right. Where would he go? They were stuck in hyperspace. Yet, he had a horrible feeling that if he didn't do something Rodney would disappear.

Hand trembling with the effort, he reached out and grabbed Rodney by his shirtfront. "You can't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, you idiot," he answered back, his voice full of soft affection.

Fist still wrapped in Rodney's shirt, John jokingly asked, "Who are you, and what have you done with, McKay?"

Rodney snorted. "Drink your coffee. I managed to liberate some of Carson's special ingredient. From the looks of you, you could use it."

Hand at his elbow, Teyla encouraged him to stand. "Ronon has laid in a course using the coordinates you gave him. I'll take it from here. Go with Rodney, John. If anything looks strange, I'll contact you."

"Yeah, okay." They were still days away from reaching their destination and it was still a crazy idea, but at least now they had a direction. Sure, he'd still have to reach out for the current every now and then, but only long enough to make sure they stayed on course. 

With a lighter heart, and leaning on Rodney to steady him, John left the flight deck more at ease than he'd felt in days. 

John intended to head for his quarters until Rodney tugged on his arm and gave him a gentle shove toward the mess.

"Food first. I know we're rationing, Sheppard, but I think we can spare a few calories for that beanpole frame of yours."

Rodney began rummaging for food. "We've got a choice of basic dehydrated crap in blue and in green. Water's no issue but I just gave you the last of the coffee."

"I'm honored," John said.

"Don't be. I should probably hate you for that. Hey—crackers. I thought we were all out of those."

John was hungrier than he expected, and, as it turned out, the blue crap spread on top of the salty crackers wasn't half-bad. "If we're out of coffee, what's this?" He pointed to the mug in front of him.

"Some tea concoction Kanaan came up with." Rodney grimaced. "Don't ask me what's in it." He leaned close and lowered his voice, "All I'm going to say is—all of our used coffee grounds have gone somewhere. Oh, and you should probably go easy on it if you expect to sleep sometime soon."

"Thanks for the warning," John said, leaning further into Rodney's space. They stayed that way, almost head to head, for a long moment. Reluctantly pulling back, John fiddled with his food. He had a million things to say and no idea how to begin.

Rodney came to his rescue. "As I was saying, we're okay on water but the food's going to be an issue sooner rather than later. I'm also working on a system to convert the energy from the array's power crystals into our engine." 

"I'll talk to Kanaan about the food situation. Any idea how long it will be before we need to dismantle our last array?"

"I'll let you know before it becomes an issue, Sheppard. Ironic isn't it? _Atlantis_ is one of the most fuel-efficient ships out there. The flaw, of course, is that there's no dark matter to collect in hyperspace. Good job on the storage tanks, by the way. If you hadn't added that extra one we'd have run dry by now."

"I was following one of your early engineering blueprints," John admitted. "It showed me how to get the job done using half the space in half the time." 

Grinning, Rodney said, "Well, I am a genius." 

John ducked his head and smiled. "I've never seen a better design. So, you see, there's a reason I didn't mind so much when Dr. Rodney McKay tried to sneak on board."

"I still say, shanghaied." Rodney teased. 

"Let's just hope this works, John, and there's really is something for us to salvage out there."

"Rodney, it will work. Hey, when it's my turn on the flight deck, how about I give you another flying lesson?"

"Really?"

"Really." John held out his hand, palm open. When nothing happened, he pulled back. "Rodney?"

"I—it's not that I don't want—god, I do, from the first moment I saw you standing there, so proud and fiercely protective of _Atlantis_. I--this a mutual thing, right?"

The uncertain hopefulness in Rodney's voice nearly broke John's heart. "It is," he said, firmly. This time when John held out his hand, Rodney took it.

His warm, calloused hand fit John's like it was made for it. 

"Are we going to talk about this?" Rodney asked.

"Nope," John answered. Talking about it sounded far too painful.

Rodney answered back with a relieved sounding, "Oh thank, god."

~*~

He tried to think of this crazy hunt as just another salvage job. They'd on this run for two weeks now and the boredom of hyperspace was starting to get to everyone. John didn't realize how bad it was until he walked into nav.

Ronon was sitting cross-legged on the deck inspecting each and every piece through a magnifying glass. 

"What the hell are you doing?" John stared unbelievingly at the sight front of him. 

"Heard a rattle. Needed to find it," Ronon grumbled. "I'll have it all back in a couple of hours. Don't worry."

"Oh-kay." John knew when it was a losing battle. "Just, ah, see that you do. Promise me you won't have any extra parts left over when you put it back together."

Ronon stretched. "How much longer before we get there?" 

"I wish I knew, buddy." Before they could discuss it any further the ship-wide intercom buzzed to life filling the room with a joyous, "Whoop!"

Wondering what the hell just happened, John asked, "Teyla? What's going on?"

"It's here! We found it! John—Captain, you need to get up here and see this." Her voice softened in wonder. "It's incredible. I never imagined anything like this."

Feeling like he couldn't get to the flight deck fast enough, John ran, barely keeping up with Ronon. His first look outside halted him in his tracks. 

Ships. Dozens of them filled the viewscreen. All different shapes and sizes, some in configurations John recognized, and some that were utterly alien. All left to drift in hyperspace like dusty, forgotten jewels.

Teyla had brought them to a full stop. Good. Crashing into a drifting hulk of a ship was definitely not in his plans for today. 

"Get Rodney. He needs to see this." John turned, nearly bumping into Ronon. He grinned. "Get your stuff together, we're going on a salvage run."

"John," Carson's voice cut in over the radio. "Need I remind you, it's not just parts for the ship we need? We're dangerously low on medical supplies and food."

"I know, Doc. Don't worry, I've got a plan."

~*~

John pulled up a display in the conference room and went over the details one more time.

"McKay has identified our target. It's an older model military vessel that should have exactly what we need. Teyla will handle the docking maneuvers. We'll go in two teams. Rodney, you'll be with me. Ronon will go with Kanaan and Carson. In and out, people. Understood?"

"I recommend we equip the environmental suits with extra oxygen until I can test for breathable air," Rodney said. "There's no telling what kind of pathogens we might run into or if there's even air at all. That's assuming I can get the heat up and running so that we don't freeze our lungs."

John didn't have an argument for that and immediately agreed. He just hoped they didn't run into any complications. 

Forty minutes later they were standing in front of the docking hatch and waiting for the seal to lock.

Ronon seemed calm and cool while Rodney spent the time reorganizing his tools. However, Kanaan and Carson both looked like they could use some captainy reassurance. "No need to be nervous, fellas," John said, trying to ease the tension. "Think of it as just another salvage trip." 

The two men rewarded him with matching, sickly-looking smiles. 

As for Teyla, she hadn't been happy with being left behind, but there was no one he trusted more to get their asses out of trouble if something went wrong. 

"Light's green. Let's go." Ronon stepped in front of John and opened the hatch. "I'll go first." 

Ronon stepped through and the hatch sealed behind him. After a tense couple of minutes, his voice came in through over the radio. "Send McKay over next. Maybe he can get the lights turned on."

"Copy that," John knew it made logical sense, but damn if he had any intention of Rodney walking into the unknown until he'd checked it out first. "Rodney, come through after me, then Carson. Kanaan, bring up the rear."

"But…" Rodney sputtered. 

John narrowed his eyes. "I said—after me."

Rodney rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

Closing his helmet John double-checked his equipment. From now on, all communication would be via radio unless by some miracle the ship could be restored to full power. "Teyla, do you read me?"

"Five by five, Captain." 

"Ditto from my end. Sheppard out."

Picking up the toolbox, he stepped into the airlock, and the door sealed behind him. As John waited for the connecting hatch to open he concentrated on his breathing. Slow and steady. In a moment, he'd be entering a dead, lifeless ship. One without lights, heat or gravity. 

The airlock opened, and with the toolbox firmly secured by a leash, John gave it a careful nudge through the hatchway and followed close behind it.

Ronon floated in front him tethered to a convenient handhold. He guided the toolbox safely out of the way and waited as John secured his own position. "You don't look like McKay."

"Very funny," John said, bracing himself against the wall. It wouldn't do anyone any damn good if he accidentally floated away. Handling weightlessness didn't use to be a problem, but he'd let himself get rusty. At least his stomach seemed to be handling the lack of gravity okay. "Rodney's next." 

What was taking Rodney so long? He should have been ninety seconds behind not—John checked his watch—four minutes behind. 

The airlock finally slid open revealing Rodney. He had a small trunk that he was awkwardly trying to maneuver through the hatch. "A little help here," he snapped, the radio conveying the sharp tone of his voice with crystal clarity.

"What's all this?" Ronon asked.

Good question. John wanted to know that himself. 

"Insurance," Rodney said. "I liberated one of the generators of efficiency. Our best access to the lens is through engineering and we don't know yet what kind of shape it's in."

John helped Rodney move his equipment away from the hatch. "A head's up would have been, helpful, McKay. You _are_ sure you can put the generator back where it belongs when we're done, right?"

Rodney glared. It was amazing how he managed to look down his nose at John through his faceplate. "That won't be a problem." The word _idiot _implied, if not said.__

__The generator wasn't the only addition. Rodney was wearing a bandolier of battery packs over his EVA suit. The form-fitting suits were top of the line for mobility and safety. They came equipped with internal radios and were made with a self-sealing, puncture-resistant fabric. But this was the first time John had ever seen one decked out like this._ _

__He managed to tear his gaze away from the way the bandolier emphasized Rodney's broad shoulders just in time to see Carson come through. Kanaan was next, looking a little green around the gills. It was obvious that he was having difficulty adjusting to weightlessness._ _

__"Easy there." John reached out to steady him and prayed that Kanaan wouldn't hurl in his helmet. "How long until we have power, McKay?"_ _

__"On it." Rodney pulled a panel off the wall, yanked off one of the battery packs off his chest and did something inside the opening that John couldn't see._ _

__The passageway's emergency lighting flickered on. "Heat will have to wait until I get to engineering. It's not like I'll be able to power the entire ship, but I should be able to do something to make it more comfortable in the areas we're working in."_ _

__John nodded. He gently pushed away from the walls. He led their way down the passageway. His crew followed his lead, and using the handrails as a guide, they made their way towards engineering. Periodically they halted and waited for Rodney to pull a panel, rip another battery pack off his bandolier, and, with a few tweaks, light their way along the next section of passageway._ _

__"Does anyone else find it strange that we haven't seen any bodies?" Rodney asked. His hands were deep in the guts of the wall's wiring, pulling out another miracle of light. He worked quickly despite the need to work in protective gloves. "I'm not trying to be gruesome, it's just—I was braced for it and— doesn't anyone else think it's odd?"_ _

__John had been prepared for the same thing but he hadn't wanted to say so. Ronon wasn't saying anything which probably meant he'd been thinking it too._ _

__Finally, Kanaan said, "They could have all made it to the survival pods. It's possible isn’t it, if they had enough warning?"_ _

__"It's as good a guess as any," John agreed. "Now let's get moving. This ship's big, but we've got to be getting close by now._ _

__They'd gone another twenty yards when Ronon slowed his momentum enough to come to a halt. "This is it, Sheppard." He pointed toward a ladder that led below deck. "That way is engineering."_ _

__Damn weightlessness. They were making faster time than they would have clunking along in their magnetic boots, but he'd missed the last handrail and had to stop his forward momentum by aiming for the wall and bouncing back toward Ronon's helpful, outstretched hand. Ronon caught him easily, but it was still embarrassing._ _

__By the time John was in position, everyone else including Kanaan was waiting by the ladder. "Can we get some lights down there?"_ _

__"Working on it, Sheppard," Rodney said, battery-pack already in hand._ _

__"One of us should go to the bridge and try to find the ship's log," Ronon suggested. He looked poised to strike off on his own and do exactly that._ _

__John didn't like the idea of splitting up, but Ronon was right. "I'll do it. You go with Rodney."_ _

__"And what about med bay?" Carson asked. "Are we close?"_ _

__"The layout is the same on all these ships," Ronon said. "Follow Sheppard. Both med bay and the galley will be on your way." Done talking, he reached out and liberated the tool chest from John. "C'mon, McKay. Let's go."_ _

__John watched Rodney and Ronon until they were out of sight, the pit of his stomach clenching in an uneasy roll. He shook it off and focused on getting to the bridge._ _

__It was just him, Carson and Kanaan now. Moving ahead, they hadn't gone far when a new section of the corridor lit up in front of them._ _

__"Looks like McKay made it to engineering," John said, grinning in relief. He'd barely gotten the words out when more lights came on, illuminating a second passageway. "And that way must be med bay."_ _

__Carson didn't wait for orders. He made a beeline straight for it, followed more slowly by Kanaan. John was about to give them hell for it when Carson radioed in, "We can handle this, John. Rodney's already got the lights on for us, and we'll be quick as can be. Unless you need something for nausea, too? I brought an injection along just in case."_ _

__"No, I'm good," John knew the uncomfortable roil in his belly wasn't going to go away until he had Rodney in his sight again._ _

__"Get on with you, then. We'll be fine, though I've no doubt we could use the extra help if you finish quickly." Carson said._ _

__"Hey, who's the captain, here?" John tried sounding stern and captain-y, but Carson was better at ignoring him than Rodney was._ _

__"Sorry, John, I mean, Captain." Carson didn't sound the least bit sorry. Worse, he had the nerve to shoo John on with a wave. "Didn't you insist we were on a tight schedule? Best be getting to it then."_ _

__Damn it. Carson was right and they both knew it, but he didn't have to like it. John sighed. "Keep this channel open, and check in every ten minutes."_ _

__He left Carson and Kanaan to gather supplies and made his solitary way down the dimly lit passageway._ _

__"Sheppard!" Rodney's strident voice came in over the radio._ _

__"What is it, Rodney?"_ _

__"I've accessed the engines. They're a mess, but marginally functional. Fortunately, the main conduit to the lens looks undamaged. I'm hooking up the portable generator now. I'll need some time to bring the heat up gradually enough not to risk cracking the lens."_ _

__"What about the rest of the ship? Any chance of turning on the artificial gravity?" John asked. "Even a sixth of normal would be nice."_ _

__"Not a chance in hell. As it is, it's going to put a strain on the generator just to get the temperature above freezing in here._ _

__"Copy that. Stay in radio contact. Sheppard out."_ _

__Cold. Dark. No gravity and no power, but it was still good news. They'd found what they came for and, in Rodney-speak, things were looking up._ _

__He could see the entrance to the bridge just ahead. The hatch should have been sealed. It wasn't. Something about this entire ship seemed off. No bodies. No sealed hatches. That's the first thing the crew should have done in the face of a disaster, seal off all areas of the ship to minimize the exposure to vacuum._ _

__"Teyla, this is Sheppard, come in."_ _

__"John, is everything all right?" she asked._ _

__"We're good. How's it going over there?"_ _

__"It's fine, John."_ _

__"Great. Sheppard out."_ _

__There was no more putting it off. John tightened his gut and stepped onto the bridge._ _

__The frost on the bulkhead walls sparkled in the light of his headlamp. The layer of rime seemed thicker here than it had in the passageway and it coated everything._ _

__The Captain, decked out in his full military dress sat frozen in his seat staring straight ahead at the viewport. Nothing had aged or faded in the cold depth of space. The captain must have sat there, knowing his fate and slowing freezing to death. He still wore an expression of calm futility under the rime of frost._ _

__The data crystal with the log should be here somewhere…right, there. John sighed. It made sense that Captain Jaminsky, according to his name badge, would be holding onto the data crystal. Updating the log had probably been the very last thing he'd done._ _

__John carefully eased it out of the captain's frozen hand. Task accomplished, he took a few minutes to take in the scene around him. He scraped the frost off the computer and stared down at the final command sequence. "You launched the life pods from here. That's an automated system why didn't you…?"_ _

__John read on. "You opened a hyperspace window."_ _

__He turned to look back at the captain, the realization of the sacrifice he'd made becoming more apparent by the moment._ _

__"You stayed behind to give your people a chance. These readings—you'd lost too much power. The hyperspace window was too small—you must have known a ship this size was never going to make it. But it was large enough for the life pods to get through._ _

__Standing in front of the lonely captain, John straightened, lifted his chin, and sharply saluted. If he ever had to face the same decision to ensure his crews' survival, he hoped to be able to face it with the same calm courage._ _

__"I swear, if we get out of this, Jaminsky, I'll make sure your people know what happened here."_ _

__"Sheppard, come in."_ _

__"Sheppard here. What is it, McKay?"_ _

__"I'm nearly done. All that's left is to secure the lens and meet up with Ronon and the rest."_ _

__"Hold up." Unease crept up John's spine. "What do you mean meet up with Ronon? He's supposed to be with you."_ _

__"Yes, yes, but he was getting underfoot so I sent him along to help Carson," Rodney said, dismissing John's concerns as if they were foolish. "We're on the clock, in case you forgot."_ _

__"I didn't…" John sighed. "I didn't forget. I'm on my way to you now. Carson, Kanaan, report."_ _

__"John? You should see this." Carson's sounded excited. "They have a limb regenerator!"_ _

__Ronon's voice broke in over the comm. "He wants to bring it."_ _

__"Ideally, yes," Carson continued. "It's a full coffin and in perfect condition. But I'm afraid it will nae fit our small med bay."_ _

__"He's petting it like a puppy, Sheppard," Ronon said, sounding amused. "I could rip it out of the wall for him."_ _

__"No, Carson's right. We don't have room for it right now. Tag it for salvage. Is Kanaan with you?"_ _

__"This is Kanaan, Captain Sheppard. Unfortunately, there was little for food supplies left. It didn't take long to pack it up."_ _

__"No coffee, then, I take it," John teased._ _

__"Sadly no. I did find some dehydrated soy packs and a new flavoring. It's called blue cheese. I might be able to make a pudding—"_ _

__"Sheppard out." He cut the connection before Kanaan could say another word about blue cheese pudding._ _

__He'd doubled timed it to engineering, and poked his head through the hatchway. McKay looked to be in fine form and John breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Need any help?"_ _

__"If you could help with the toolbox?" Rodney had lashed the toolbox to a convenient pipe, well out of his way as he carefully wrapped their new lens in foam padding._ _

__"Got it. Let's go." John flicked open his comm. "Time to head back, everyone. If you can't net it or easily carry it, leave it. We'll meet back at the airlock. Ronon, make sure Carson and Kanaan stop what they're doing and leave now. Sheppard out."_ _

__With the toolbox's leash strapped to his waist, John's hands were free to help Rodney fit the lens case into one of the nets._ _

__"Are you sure I can't just carry it in my arms?" Rodney asked, clearly reluctant to let it go._ _

__"If you're holding onto it with both hands, how do you expect to be able to grab the bars and pull yourself along? Here, I'll shorten the strap so it will be closer to your chest."_ _

____

~*~

Kanaan and Carson were waiting for them by the time he and Rodney made it back to the airlock. Good. At least these two had listened to his orders. With a calmness he didn't feel, John asked, "Where's Ronon?"

He doubted Ronon was hurt, Carson wouldn't have left him if that was the case, but where the hell was he?

"He was right behind us," Kanaan said, looking apologetic.

"Aye," Carson nodded. "We were passing what he took to be the captain's quarters and he ducked inside before we could say anything."

"He told us to keep going and that he'd catch up," Kanaan was clearly unhappy about that decision. "We couldn't exactly force him to come with us."

"Ronon, come in. This is Sheppard. Where the blazes are you?"

"Be there in five, Sheppard. I found some interesting shit. I think you're going to be glad I took a little detour. Ronon, out."

If John could have slapped his forehead through his helmet he would have. He wasn't commanding a crew, he was herding meteors. Frustrated, all he could do was glare down the empty passageway and wait for Ronon to show up.

True to his word Ronon showed up before the five-minute mark. John couldn't be sure but it looked like he had a data crystal tucked his suit's arm pocket. 

"Teyla, we're at the airlock. I'm sending Rodney and our replacement lens through first."

"The seal is secure, Captain. I'll be waiting for him on the other side."

John was the last one to enter the airlock and as the hatch sealed behind him he finally let himself relax. As soon as the air pressure equalized, he took off his helmet and stretched. 

Teyla greeted him with a soft, amused smile. John caught sight of Kanaan's back as he was leaving and there was no sign of anyone else. 

"You're the only one here?" John asked.

"Yes. The crew was anxious to get their newly acquired supplies taken care of quickly. It will not surprise you that I had to remind Rodney to finish removing his EVA suit before he headed to engineering." She reached out and took John's helmet. "How did it go?"

"There were a few surprises," he said, thinking of Captain Jaminsky. "But we got what we went for."

She squeezed his arm. "I'm glad. But next time, don't you dare even dream about leaving me behind."

~*~

Stepping out of the shower John rubbed his fingers through his hair, hoping to smooth down at least some of his cowlicks.

He finished dressing in a soft black, t-shirt, black cargo pants, socks, and boots. It felt wonderful to be out of the EVA suit and back in regular clothes. Not that he'd minded how nicely the close-fitting EVA suits had followed the sweet curve of Rodney's ass, but aside from that he'd never liked the damn things. 

He still had a few more minutes before the meeting. Good. It gave him time to collect his thoughts. Rodney claimed the lens installation was going well and now it just needed testing. And they'd do that, but not until after he'd heard everyone's report.

The comm buzzed. "Sheppard, this is McKay. Stop lollygagging and get down here. We're all waiting."

"You're early. The meeting doesn't start for another thirty minutes."

"Yes, well, since you won't let me test the lens until after the meeting, I'd like us to get a move on. Everyone else is here already."

With an indulgent shake of his head, John signed off and headed toward the conference room. He'd bet a month's pay that the reason everyone was already there was because Rodney had badgered them into it. 

John sauntered in, caught Rodney rolling his eyes, which was the entire point of lazing his way into the room, sat down, and exchanged glances with his crew. He didn't think it was possible, but the first thing that hit him when he entered the room was the scent of coffee.

Kanaan stood there beaming from ear-to-ear. "I've been saving this. I wanted to keep it a surprise. So…" he sat a cup of coffee down at John's place at the head of the table. "Surprise!"

Giving it all the reverence it deserved, he took a slow, careful sip. "I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like. Thank you, Kanaan, this is a real treat.

John took his time letting everyone get settled before beginning the meeting. Just as Rodney looked ready to crawl across the table and throttle him for taking so long, he drawled, "Any more surprises?"

When no one jumped in to comment, John said, "Teyla, why don't you go first."

"Thank you. According to the ship's log, she was christened the _Monolith_. She was lost during a survey expedition—twenty years ago. Her engines were damaged, possibly the same way ours were. Without power, the ship eventually drifted into the repository of lost ships where we found her. I will need time to study the ship's logs before I know more."

"My turn." Ronon sat a data crystal on the table. "Found it in the captain's quarters. I've already taken a look at it. I think you'll find it interesting."

He plugged it into the crystal reader. A 3-D hologram opened and Ronon flipped through the images with an easy wave of his fingers. When he came to the one he wanted he increased the magnification so that everyone could see it in detail.

"Is that…?" Rodney was leaning so close that John was afraid he was going to fall out of his chair. 

"A star chart." Ronon folded his arms over his chest and grinned. "There are dozens of them. All of them places we've never even heard of, let alone explored."

"Well, clearly somebody has," Rodney huffed.

"Aliens?" It wasn't a question. John knew the truth of it in his gut and by the evidence of his eyes. There were ships out there trapped in the graveyard—repository—that had no resemblance to anything made by humans.

"The question is, how did the _Monolith_ get their hands on these star maps, and are the…" John winced. "The aliens going to be pissed off if they find out we have them?"

Ronon shrugged. "If it becomes a problem, we'll deal with it. But I think it's more likely the _Monolith _was involved in a secret first contact mission. It may have been part of a trade deal. You've got the Captain's log, check it."__

__"I will." John got it, he really did. Ronon was a born navigator. Getting his hands on these star charts must have felt like inheriting a gold mine._ _

__"Perhaps we should keep these star charts a secret for now?" Teyla suggested._ _

__"Yeah, no." John liked the idea of keeping them secret just fine, but there was a tiny little problem with that. "I promised Captain Jaminsky I'd make sure his people knew what happened to him. That means turning over the _Monolith's_ log."_ _

__"Well, it was a nice idea while it lasted," Rodney said. "Oh, for pity's sake, Sheppard, unclench your jaw before it sets like that. We all get it. If we died out here we'd want our families to know what happened to us, too. But at least make copies of these before you turn it in."_ _

__Kanaan and Carson made their reports and when the conversation hit a natural lull, John called attention to the time._ _

__"Finally!" Rodney huffed. "If we're done here, I'm ready to test the new lens as soon as you give the okay."_ _

__John grinned. "The okay is given."_ _

__Rodney opened his laptop. "I'm running one last check to make sure our borrowed lens is completely integrated into _Atlantis'_ systems. It wouldn't be fun to have the wormhole collapse while we're in the center of it."_ _

__"And how long will that take?" Soon, John hoped. Once they were back in normal space they could call the job done and collect their money. And then, he and Rodney could plan a vacation together somewhere—somewhere they could find some real privacy for a change._ _

__"Um…"_ _

__"Rodney?"_ _

__"We're good to go."_ _

____

~*~

John set in the pilot's seat and waited for Ronon's nav program to load. Rodney had followed him in with something clearly on his mind. "What is it, McKay?"

"Are you sure you're up to this? We could take a couple more days…"

"I think you're forgetting something, genius," John teased. "We just set up an entire chain of arrays. I get us far enough away from here to safely open a jump point and pick our destination. We're practically home already."

~*~

A pucker-faced League representative met them at the spaceport. He waved his archaic clipboard around like a baton, and John just knew he was going to try to weasel them out of their pay.

He was braced for an overblown outraged rant when Rodney walked up, slapped a data crystal down on top of pucker-face's clipboard and smugly announced, "This is the expense report of all the damage done to the _Atlantis_. Cost of replacement parts, labor and, oh yes, medical expenses. You're damn lucky you and your incompetent morons aren't being billed for funeral expenses."

Taking his cue from Rodney, John added, "Now, we could keep the array that's still sitting in our cargo hold as partial payment, or we could be generous and hand it back to you and you could forget these ridiculous charges and pay us the amount we agreed on."

Pucker-face turned an odd shade of red, swallowed a mouthful of spittle, and with a final glare at McKay, put his clipboard away. "Fine."

They watched as he stomped off. 

"Thanks, Rodney." 

"I figured with Carson off to see his mother, and Teyla and Kanaan heading for their vacation on Vega Prime, you needed someone here to watch your back. Where did Ronon go, anyway?" Rodney asked.

"Not sure. Last time I saw him he was walking down the ramp, yelled at me to deposit his cut into his account, and said he'd be back when we had a new gig."

"Oh. I guess some things are better not to know too much about." Rodney shifted from foot-to-foot. looking ill at ease. 

"I guess. What's on your mind, Rodney?"

"Just wondering what you were going to do with your cut. Are you going somewhere? Maybe you'd want company? I've got experience with crop circles, in case that helps. 

John smiled. "Well, I thought I'd take my cut and invest it back into _Atlantis_. Do a few upgrades, that sort of thing. In fact, I plan on cutting out a bulkhead and expanding the captain's quarters."

Rodney stilled. "Expand?"

"Yep. I plan on making it big enough for two."

"Oh." Rodney blinked. "For two. Wait right here. Don't move. I'll be right back with the blowtorch."

~***~


End file.
